Tomorrow's opinions, October 14, 2009
Tomorrow the Supreme Court will issue a ruling that could result in the most significant expansion of the state’s Public Records Act since the act was adopted in 1973. The issue in City of Federal Way v. Koenig, No. 82288-3, is whether some or all court records are subject to disclosure under the Public Records Act.
David Koenig requested records related to the resignation of Federal Way Municipal Court Judge Colleen Hartl and correspondence of Judge Michael Morgan. The city determined that several court records were not disclosable. The King County Superior Court agreed, relying primarily on the case of Nast v. Michels (1986), where the Supreme Court held that courts are not “agencies” under the Public Records Act. Mr. Koenig argues that Nast applied in a limited fashion to case files, but does not exempt a court’s administrative records.
Also up for tomorrow: Post v. City of Tacoma, No. 80684-5 (whether a city’s assessments of monetary penalties for building code violations constituted “land use decisions” subject to the Land Use Petition Act) and State v. King, No. 80948-8 (whether a policy officer was justified in stopping a motorcyclist outside the officer’s jurisdiction when the officer observed the traveling motorcyclist stand momentarily on his foot pegs, look at a vehicle next to him, and accelerate away at high speed).
